Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude | Game Brain

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"Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude" is a first-person action-adventure game set in a dark, eerie version of Tokyo. Players must use supernatural abilities to combat ghostly enemies and uncover the truth behind a sudden disappearance of the city's population. The prelude acts as a prologue to the main game, introducing players to the game's unique atmosphere and mechanics.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

59%

Audience ScoreBased on 164 reviews

story16 positive mentions

music2 negative mentions

The artwork is visually appealing and has a nice manga-like style.
It serves as a brief introduction to the characters and world of Ghostwire: Tokyo, which may pique interest in the main game.
It's free and can be completed in about 20-30 minutes, making it a low-commitment experience.

The game is very short and lacks meaningful interactivity, feeling more like a visual novel than a game.
The writing is sub-par and fails to provide substantial backstory or character development.
Technical issues, such as long credits and lack of support for ultrawide monitors, detract from the overall experience.

story
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
74%
5%
The story serves as a brief introduction to the characters and world of the main game, Ghostwire: Tokyo, but many players find it lacking in depth and engagement. While it offers some interesting backstory and character interactions, the choices feel inconsequential, and the narrative does not significantly enhance the main game's plot. Overall, it is seen as a light, somewhat disjointed prelude that may appeal to fans seeking additional lore but is not essential for understanding the main story.
- “Meanwhile, the story -- short and simple -- gives enough detail to make the player interested in the world that is set up for the full title.”
- “Interesting short story to spark your interest in the world of Ghostwire: Tokyo.”
- “Characters were introduced and the short story left me wanting to know about them when playing the main game.”
- “It's a visual novel through and through with only a handful of choices that don't seem to change much. This game seems more like an introduction to the characters and their work rather than trying to tell a full story.”
- “The visual novel choices you make don’t feel meaningful and don’t add to the story whatsoever.”
- “It tells you nothing of substance; it's a disjointed snapshot from somewhere in the middle of an ongoing story. The characters are cheap stereotypes, and there's no transition between emotional shifts; they come out of nowhere.”
graphics
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
59%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the art style as visually appealing and reminiscent of visual novels, while others criticize the quality of character portraits and low-resolution assets. Some players appreciate the stylish artwork and special effects, but there are complaints about glitches and optimization issues that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are considered decent for a free game, but opinions vary significantly on their execution and impact.
- “The graphics are visually lovely, and I love their art style for this prequel.”
- “It took me 30 minutes to beat; it's short, impactful, free, and has good visuals with a stylish but awesome art style.”
- “The graphics are excellent for a free game, and the style is copied from visual novel games like the Ace Attorney series.”
- “The art style is deviantart quality; it doesn’t tell you any information you wouldn’t already learn from playing the main game, and even spoils some plot elements.”
- “First, the graphics are only passable. I'm focusing on the character portraits here; I have no problem with the background art.”
- “The artwork is fine overall, serviceable and nothing special, but the assets appear rather low-resolution.”
gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The gameplay aspect of the game is largely criticized for its minimal interactivity, as it primarily functions as a visual novel with very few gameplay elements. Players note a lack of meaningful choices, confusing mechanics, and a short duration that fails to engage, often suggesting that watching gameplay videos would be more beneficial than playing. While it serves as a prelude to a more substantial game, the overall experience is seen as lacking depth and coherence.
- “Having played the full game before this prelude, I can safely say that in terms of visuals and gameplay, the full game has nothing much in common with this.”
- “It does feature one simple RPG-esque combat type gameplay if you're into that.”
- “While there is no real depth to the characters, no 'relationship building' like the description suggests, and nothing I would consider gameplay, if anything about the upcoming Ghostwire Tokyo game has piqued your interest, you will probably enjoy your time with this.”
- “Credits longer than actual gameplay.”
- “It's too short and there is a lack of interactive/gameplay moments.”
- “There are a few 'gameplay' segments but they do nothing but remind you that you could be playing a much better visual novel.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game offers minimal replayability, primarily for players interested in exploring all dialogue options, but overall, it lacks significant incentives for multiple playthroughs. A typical session lasts 20-30 minutes, suggesting that while there is some potential for replay, it may not be particularly engaging.
- “Infinite replayability.”
- “A playthrough takes about 20-30 minutes, and there is some minimal replayability if anyone is interested in hearing all the dialog lines.”
- “There is some replayability if you want to hear all the dialog options.”
- “A playthrough takes about 20-30 minutes and there is some minimal replayability if anyone is interested to hear all dialog lines.”
- “Some replayability if you want to hear all the dialog options, but it wasn't that exciting.”
- “No replay value.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game's music has received positive feedback, with many praising the soundtrack as enjoyable. However, while the music is a highlight, some players feel it doesn't compensate for the overall experience, suggesting the game may not be worth playing before the main title.
- “The music is really good, though!”
- “The game gets some points for the artwork, soundtrack, and price (free), but it is still not worth playing before the main game.”
- “Music was okay.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Reviewers criticize the emotional aspect of the game for its lack of effective facial expressions, leading to disjointed and exaggerated portrayals of emotions that do not align with the dialogue. The characters are seen as cheap stereotypes, and the abrupt emotional shifts contribute to a poorly written and unengaging narrative.
- “The emotional depth of the characters really resonates with me, making their struggles feel authentic and relatable.”
- “I was genuinely moved by the storyline; it captured the complexities of human emotions beautifully.”
- “The game masterfully portrays the highs and lows of relationships, leaving a lasting impact on my heart.”
- “The story is poorly written and fails to engage emotionally.”
- “I found the narrative to be dull and lacking any emotional depth.”
- “The emotional aspects of the game felt forced and unconvincing.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is polarizing; while some players find it short and genuinely hilarious, others criticize it for its strange dialogue and nonsensical jokes that often miss the mark. Overall, it elicits a mix of laughter and confusion among players.
- “Short, funny, made me laugh so hard, I loved it!”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, including buggy menus and a fullscreen mode that functions more like a problematic windowed mode, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience.
- “Doesn't need to exist; it also has buggy menus.”
- “Fullscreen is still a buggy windowed mode where you're using the default Windows mouse cursor to play the game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the repetitive nature of redoing the entire story multiple times to experience different dialogue options. This repetitiveness can lead to a frustrating gameplay experience.
- “Tedious.”
- “With the amount of different dialogue you can potentially read, redoing the entire story time after time is tiresome and tedious.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has received negative feedback, with users reporting poor performance, visual glitches, and bugged menus. Additionally, there are concerns about the lack of ultra-wide support and a plea for the developers to avoid letterboxing, indicating a strong desire for improvements in this area.
- “The main game better be better than this unoptimized garbage... the story is interesting but glitched visuals, bugged menus, no ultra-wide support... the only thing I must implore the developers to do is - please do not put the game in letterbox like Evil Within, otherwise I'll refund this time!”
- “Not very good performance, but it's cool.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of "Ghostwire: Tokyo" is characterized by a captivating blend of eerie lore and immersive urban environments, offering players a tantalizing glimpse into its haunting world, albeit in a brief 30-minute experience.
- “A very brief (30 min) taste of the atmosphere and lore of Ghostwire: Tokyo.”

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